Oklahoma Plant Science Research (Plant Science)

Plant Science – A Growing Field

Research dollars spent on plant science research is expected to exceed $100 billion worldwide in FY 2008. In this country alone the Department of Energy will spend $250 million to conduct research on microbes and plants, and focus on understanding how to reengineer biological processes for more efficient conversion of plant fiber into ethanol, a substitute for gasoline. The National Institutes of Health will spend nearly half a billion dollars on research targeted to developing new drugs and therapeutics derived from plants. Even the Department of Defense will spend $200 million to determine how certain plants are able to resist radiation.

In addition to its important role in health, defense, and energy, plant research will play a crucial role in ensuring that the rapidly growing population of the world continues to have a sufficient supply of high quality food. For these reasons it is obvious that plant science is a key technology for the 21st century.

Program Purpose and Description

The purpose of the Oklahoma Plant Science Research program is to:

Improve the competitiveness of Oklahoma’s plant researchers in securing federal grants and contracts

Help researchers gain the expertise and gather research data to support funding opportunities for larger research projects

Encourage collaborative efforts to support applied plant research projects

Support R&D necessary to move plant science research to commercialization

Plant science research, for the purpose of this program, means those research activities occurring at institutions of higher education, nonprofit research institutions, and private enterprises, which have potential commercial application and concern plant productivity, renewable biomass, plant-based environmental applications and chemical platforms, plant-based solutions to improve nutrition, human and/or animal health or performance, process applications, and seed management and the development of new products and services that shall form the basis of new, high-technology plant science/agriculture industry for Oklahoma.

The Plant Science Research Program has both applied and basic research tracks.

Oklahoma Plant Science Research Program Overview

Eligibility

Funding Levels

Length of Funding

Match Requirements

Oklahoma public or private colleges or universities; Non-profit research organizations; Enterprises – a firm with its principal place of business in Oklahoma